Mohammed Yusuf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1970-01-29)29 January 1970 |
| Died | 30 July 2009(2009-07-30) (aged 39) |
| Allegiance | Boko Haram |
| Years of service | 2002–2007 |
| Rank | Leader |
| Battles / wars | Boko Haram insurgency |
Mohammed Yusuf (29 January 1970 – 30 July 2009), also known asUstaz Mohammed Yusuf, was a Nigerian militant who founded theIslamist militant groupBoko Haram in 2002. He was its leader until he was killed during the2009 Boko Haram uprising.[1]
Born in Girgi village, inJakusko, present-dayYobe State, Nigeria, Yusuf received a university education.[2] Later he studied more of Islam and became aSalafi.[3]
According to scholar Paul Lubeck of theUniversity of California at Santa Cruz, as a young man Yusuf was instructed inShia Islam and associated withSalafism and the teachings ofIbn Taymiyyah.[4] He had the equivalent of a graduate education, according to Nigerian academic Hussain Zakaria. Yusuf was never as proficient in English as was reported. He believed in thestrict application ofIslamic law, which represented his ideal of justice according to the teachings of the Islamic prophet,Muhammad. Boko Haram hitmen would murder members of other Muslim sects like the SalafistIzala and theSufiTidjaniyya andQadiriya fraternities.[5]In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf statedhis belief that the concept of aspherical Earth is contrary toIslamic teaching and should be rejected. He also rejectedDarwinian evolution, and the concept of thecondensation cycle that produces rain.[6] In the interview he said:
There are prominent Islamic preachers who have seen and understood that the present Western-style education is mixed with issues that run contrary to our beliefs in Islam, he said.
Like rain. We believe it is acreation of God rather than an evaporation caused by the sun that condenses and becomes rain.
Like saying the world is a sphere. If it runs contrary to the teachings of Allah, we reject it. We alsoreject the theory of Darwinism.
Yusuf had four wives and 11 children,[7] one of them beingAbu Musab al-Barnawi, who claimed since 2016 to be the rightful leader of Boko Haram, opposingAbubakar Shekau.[8]
He was reported as living a lavish lifestyle, supposedly owning aMercedes-Benz.[6]
Following the July 2009 Boko Haram uprising, the Nigerian military captured Yusuf. They transferred him to the custody of the Nigerian police force.[9] The police summarily executed Yusuf in public view outside the police headquarters inMaiduguri.[10][11][12] Police officials initially claimed either that Yusuf was shot while trying to escape or died of wounds he sustained during a gun battle with the military.[11][12]
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